Life is too short to waste it on et cetera

Just because it is written in the Swedish source text doesn’t mean we need to write it in English.

“Det finns flera avdelningarna, t.ex.  biblioteket, ekonomiavdelningen, HR-avdelningen, etc.”

“t.ex.” indicates to the reader that a non-exclusive list is coming up. So “etc.” is entirely superfluous.

But it is in the Swedish, you say. So what? And it’s bad Swedish too, according to my sources.

While we are on the subject of etc.

The Chicago Manual of Style: “should be avoided, though it is usually acceptable in lists and tables, in notes, and within parentheses.”

John B. Bremner’s Words on Words: “Use it informally, if you really must.”

May all your rants be as minor as this.